Mental Battle

For the past week I have been having this major draw to be outside and either in the water or mountains.  Unfortunately Florida only has one of these activities and so I have had to pacify myself by running on the beach.  I have been on the quest to buy a sea kayak for the last year or so, and each time they seem to slip out from under me.  I have called/emailed on a half a dozen boats, and each have been sold before I have had a chance to look at them.  I'm going to continue my search, and hopefully within a few weeks I'll find something.

In my search for these activities I have been captivated by sea kayaking videos that I have found on youtube.

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with another post of some of the aircraft we saw this weekend at KDAB.  NASCAR was in town for the Daytona 500 and as a result the NASCAR air force was here too.  Some interesting visitors also made an appearance.  This weekend also saw an open house in New Smyrna where a pair of B-17s and a B-24 were on display, and a very rare aircraft was also spotted.

Massey Ranch Airpark

Well another day of flight team practice.  Although no longer on the team I still enjoy going to practice and helping out.  This weekend marks the 3rd weekend of practice since the team received the brand new Cessna 162 Skycatcher.  What a plane it has been so far.  No complaints from anyone really.  Over the last three weeks I have watched as our pilots have slowly taken to the aircraft and improved their landings.  The first week hardly anyone even landed in the 300 foot box.  Already by week 3 not only were most  in the box, but they were doing so despite very gusty conditions.  Massey has a burble not unlike that which carrier pilots experience from the bridge.  At either end of runway 18-36 there are trees, and the second you pass over those trees on short final all the flight characteristics of your approach change in an instant.

Phil and I were able to arrive early to practice because we drove separately this gave us a chance to take some shots in the early morning light with frost and dew still covering the aircraft.  The Commander above is probably the best shot of the morning.

The big thrill of the day was the first time that any of us have witnessed a jet at Massey Ranch.  A Cessna 500 Citation I departed around 0900.  You can see it being fueled and towed by a Ford diesel.

Next weekend is the Daytona 500 so be on the look out for shots of the Thunderbirds and the NASCAR air force.